Device for separating stacked cup-shaped containers and feeding individual cup-shaped containers

ABSTRACT

A device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of such containers is provided, including a frame, a separating mechanism, an adjusting mechanism, and a power transmission mechanism. The separating mechanism includes at least a pair of screw rods arranged on opposite sides of the frame and substantially parallel to and spaced from each other to receive the stack therebetween. The power transmission mechanism is coupled to the screw rods by mated gears for driving rotation of the screw rods. The screw rods have screws engaging outer rim of each individual container and having an increased pitch whereby when the screw rods rotate, the container is driven forward in a given direction and is increasingly spaced from the other containers due to the increased screw pitch. The adjusting mechanism is coupled to the screw rods to selectively adjust the distance between the screw rods for accommodating containers of different specifications. Thus, automatic separation of the cup-shaped containers can be achieved, and in addition, the device can be applied to containers of different specifications easily.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a device that separates individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of the containers, and in particular to such a device that employs a pair of screw rods having screws of increased pitches to separate individual cup-shaped containers from the stack of containers that is positioned between and engaging the screw rods.

2. The Related Art

Heat-shrinkage films made of plastics are commonly used in packaging goods for purposes of decoration and protection. An example of the goods that is enclosed by the plastic film is heat-resistant cup-shaped containers that are often used to pack instant foods, such as instant noodles and brewing soups. To save space for storage and transportation, the cup-shaped containers are often partially fit over and stacked on each other.

Individual containers must be separated from the stack before further processing, including film fitting, can be carried out. Conventionally, the containers are separated manually and are then placed on a conveyer belt one by one in an equally spaced manner for subsequent film fitting operation that is automatically carried out. However, human error often occurs and the distance or pitch between separated containers that are positioned on the conveyer belt may vary from container to container. This causes difficult in automatically fitting the plastic film over the containers and other processing.

Thus, it is desired to have a device that effectively separates individual cup-shaped containers of stack from each other to alleviate the above problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack, comprising a frame retaining the stack and a separating mechanism comprising two screw rods on opposite sides of the frame whereby screws of increased pitch of the screw rods engage outer rim of each container and drives the container in a given direction to separate the container from the stack when the screw rods rotates. Manual interference during the operation of the device is not needed at all and costs of time and labor are substantially reduced.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack by means of two spaced screw rods engaging outer rims of the containers and comprising an adjusting mechanism for selectively adjusting the distance between the screw rods for accommodating stacks of cup-shaped containers of different specifications.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack by means of two spaced screw rods engaging outer rims of the containers and driving the container forward with the rotation thereof, comprising a transmission mechanism coupled to and controlling the rotation of the screw rods whereby the forward-driving speed of the container is well controlled and timing when the container is deposited onto a conveyer belt is precisely set to ensure proper positioning of the container on the conveyer belt for enhancing subsequent processing, including film fitting, and thus improving quality and efficiency of final products.

To realize the above objectives, in accordance with the present invention, a device for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of such containers is provided, comprising a frame, a separating mechanism, an adjusting mechanism, and a power transmission mechanism. The separating mechanism comprises at least a pair of screw rods arranged on opposite sides of the frame and substantially parallel to and spaced from each other to receive the stack therebetween. The power transmission mechanism is coupled to the screw rods by mated gears for driving rotation of the screw rods. The screw rods have screws engaging outer rim of each individual container and having an increased pitch whereby when the screw rods rotate, the container is driven forward in a given direction and is increasingly spaced from the other containers due to the increased screw pitch. The adjusting mechanism is coupled to the screw rods to selectively adjust the distance between the screw rods for accommodating containers of different specifications. Thus, automatic separation of the cup-shaped containers can be achieved, and in addition, the device can be applied to containers of different specifications easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of preferred embodiments thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a device constructed in accordance with the present invention for separating individual cup-shaped containers from a stack of such containers;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, in an enlarged scale as compared to FIG. 1, of a portion of the device of the present invention, particularly showing the stack of containers engaging and separated by screw rods of the device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adjusting mechanism that selectively adjusts the distance between the screw rods of the device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a frame of the device constructed in accordance with the present invention, showing a transmission mechanism of the device; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a device for separating cup-shaped containers from a stack in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a feeding mechanism for automatically feeding stacks of containers in to the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1-4, a device that is constructed in accordance with the present invention for separating stacked cup-shaped containers and feeding the separated individual cup-shaped containers, which will be briefly referred to as “cup separating device” hereinafter, is generally designated with reference numeral 100. The cup separating device 100 comprises a frame 10, a separating mechanism 20, an adjusting mechanism 30, and a transmission mechanism 40. The frame 10 can be of any desired construction and, in the embodiment illustrated, comprises a feed hopper 11 arranged at a topmost location for receiving a stack 200 of cup-shaped containers 210. The containers 210 are vertically stacked by having an open end facing downward and fit over an opposite closed end of the-next container at the lower side.

The separating mechanism 20 comprises two screw rods 21, 22 and two first transmission gears 23, 24 respectively mounted to the screw rods 21, 22. The screw rods 21, 22 are arranged on opposite sides of the frame 10 and stand upright. Also, the screw rods 21, 22 are substantially parallel to each other and spaced from each other by a distance sufficient to accommodate the stack 200 of the containers 210 between the screw rods 21, 22. The screw rods 21, 22 each comprise a helical screw 211, 221 of variable thickness spaced by a helical groove 212, 222 of constant width corresponding to an outer rim 210A of the container 210, whereby the screws of the screw rods 21, 22 have a variable pitch, which in the embodiment is increased toward a given direction in which the containers 210 is moved by the screw rods 21, 22 to separate from the stack 200. In addition, the width of the helical groove 212, 222 of the screw rod 21, 22 is sufficient to receive and properly engage an outer rim 210A of the cup-shaped container 210 therein. The transmission gears 23, 24 are mounted to the screw rods 21, 22 for driving the screw rods 21, 22 respectively. The transmission gears 23, 24 can be of any type, and are preferably bevel gears as shown in the drawings.

The adjusting mechanism 30 comprises two spaced boards 31, 32 between which two guide rails 33, 34 extend. A threaded rod 35 extends, in parallel to the guide rails 33, 34, between and is rotatably supported by the boards 31, 32 with opposite ends of the rod 35 extending beyond the boards 31, 32. A hand wheel 351 is mounted to one end of the threaded rod 35 for manually rotating the threaded rod 35. Two movable blocks 36, 37 are arranged between the boards 31, 32 and each defines two through holes 361, 371 for the extension of the guide rails 33, 34 whereby the movable blocks 36, 37 are movable along the guide rails 33, 34 between the boards 31, 32. The movable blocks 36, 37 also define inner-threaded holes 362, 372 engageable with the threaded rod 35 whereby the rotation of the rod 35 by the hand wheel 351 causes the movable blocks 36, 37 to move along the guide rails 33, 34. This changes the distance between the movable blocks 36, 37.

Each movable block 36, 37 comprises an upper support member 364, 374 and an opposite lower support member 365, 375. The screw rods 21, 22 are rotatably supported between the upper and lower support members 364, 365, and 374, 375 of the movable blocks 36, 37, respectively. Thus, by moving the movable blocks 36, 37 along the guide rails 33, 34, the distance between the screw rods 21, 22 is changed for accommodating containers 210 of different sizes or specifications.

The transmission mechanism 40 is arranged on the back side of the frame 10, including a motor 41 mounted to the frame 10. The frame 10 forms an elongate slot 12 in which two transmission wheels 44, 45 are movably received. The transmission wheels 44, 45 are coupled to a spindle 411 of the motor 41 by means of an endless timing belt 43 extending around a plurality of gears 42 that are rotatably mounted to the frame 10. At least some of the gears 42 are movable with respect to the frame 10 for maintaining proper tension of the belt 43 and for accommodating the displacement of the transmission wheels 44, 45 along the slot 12 of the frame 10. It is noted that in the embodiment illustrated, the timing belt 43 comprises teeth on both sides thereof.

Transmission shafts 46, 47 are mounted to the transmission wheels 44, 45, respectively, to rotate in unison therewith and are also movable away from/toward each other with the movement of the transmission wheels 44, 45 along the slot 12. Each shaft 46, 47 has a free end extends through a hole 363, 373 defined in each movable block 36, 37 and the shaft 46, 47 is rotatably supported by the movable block 36, 37. Thus, the movement of the movable blocks 36,37, which changes the distance between the screw rods 21, 22, can be done in unison with the displacement of the transmission wheels 44, 45 along the slot 12 of the frame 10.

The free end of the shaft 46, 47 supports a second transmission gear 461, 471, which mates the first transmission gear 23, 24 that is mounted to the screw rod 21, 22. Thus, the rotation of the spindle 411 of the motor 41 that is transmitted to the shafts 46, 47 through the belt 43, the gears 42, and the transmission wheels 44, 45, is applied to the screw rods 21, 22 via the mated gear pairs 23, 461, and 24, 471, for driving rotation of the screw rods 21, 22.

The transmission gears 461, 471, and 23, 24 can be of any desired type, provided they are mated with each other for transmission of torque. In the embodiment illustrated, the gears 461, 471, 23, 24 are bevel gears mating each other.

To operate the cup separating device 100 of the present invention, the adjusting mechanism 30 is first operated to properly set the distance between the screw rods 21, 22 according to the size or specification of the containers 210 to be processed. The hand wheel 351 is rotated to move the movable blocks 36, 37, and thus the screw rods 21, 22 supported on the movable blocks 36, 37, with respect to each other for setting the distance between the screw rods 21, 22. During the movement of the movable blocks 36, 37 that rotatably support the shaft 46, 47, the transmission wheels 44, 45 to which the shafts 46, 47 are mounted are caused to move along the slot 12 in synchronization with the movement of the movable blocks 36, 37. Thus, the rotation of the shafts 46, 47 can be maintained and is not interfered with by the movement of the movable blocks 36, 37.

The rotation of the shafts 46, 47 induced by the operation of the motor 41 is transmitted to the screw rods 21, 22 by the mated gears 23, 461 (24, 471). As mentioned previously, the outer rim 210A of each container 210 in the stack 200 placed between the screw rods 21, 22 is received in and in driving engagement with the helical grooves 212, 222 of the screw rods 21, 22. Thus, the rotation of the screw rods 21, 22 drives the individual containers 210 in a given direction, such as downward in the embodiment illustrated, toward a conveyer belt 300 (see FIG. 1). Due to the increased pitch of the screw rods 21, 22 in the direction toward the conveyer belt 300, each container 210, when moved toward the conveyer belt 300 by the screw rods 21, 22, is gradually separated from the next container 210. Eventually, the containers 210 are completely separated from each other and are individually deposited onto the conveyer belt 300. The conveyer belt 300 may carry and convey the separated containers 210 to the next processing stations.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the cup separating device 100 of the present invention can be modified by adding a feed control mechanism 50 above the feed hopper 11 of the frame 10. The feed control mechanism 50 provides control for automatically feeding container stacks into the hopper 11 to allow continuous operation of the cup separating device 100.

The feed control mechanism 50 comprises a conveyer 52, such as a conveyer belt, that carries and conveys a number of stacks 200 of containers 210 toward the feed hopper 11. A sensing device 51 is arranged at a proper location to detect the presence of the stack 200 inside the feed hopper 11 and, once the containers 210 inside the feed hopper 11 are all discharged and separated, the sensing device 51 actuates a transportation mechanism, including first and second pneumatic driving devices 53, 54, such as pneumatic cylinders, to move the first container stack 200 that is located on the conveyer 52 into the hopper 11. The sensing device 51 can be any known sensor, such as an opto-electrical sensor.

The first and second pneumatic driving devices 53, 54 are arranged at an end of the conveyer 52, which can be located close to and above the hopper 11 as shown in the drawings. In the embodiment illustrated, the first pneumatic driving device 53 is arranged to move in a direction substantially parallel to the conveying direction of the conveyer 52, while the second pneumatic driving device 54, which is mounted to a driving rod 531 of the first pneumatic driving device 53, is movable in a direction transverse to that of the first pneumatic driving device 53. In other words, the movement of the second pneumatic driving device 54 is substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyer 52. A driving board 542 is mounted to a driving rod 541 of the second pneumatic driving device 52. Thus, by combination of the movement of the first and second pneumatic driving devices 53, 54, the driving board 542 is positionable above the hopper 11.

The feed control mechanism 50 also comprises third and fourth pneumatic driving devices 55, 56, such as pneumatic cylinders, which are arranged on opposite sides and above the hopper 11. The third and fourth pneumatic driving devices 55, 56 have driving rods 551, 561 that face each other and are movable in opposite directions and substantially transverse to the conveying direction of the conveyer 52. Guide boards 552, 562 are mounted to free ends of the driving rods 551, 561, and carrier boards 57, 58 are mounted to lower edges of the guide boards 552, 562, whereby when the driving rods 551, 561 are moved to extended positions, opposing edges of the carrier boards 57, 58 joint to each other to form a support plane that is substantially flush with the conveyer 52 and the guide boards 552, 562 delimit a temporal storage space A1 for the stack 200 to be fed into the hopper 11.

Once the containers 210 that were previously fed into the hopper 11 are all discharged out of the hopper 11, the sensing device 51 initiates, through control means, the operation of the pneumatic driving devices 53, 54, 55, 56. The driving board 542 of the second driving device 54 is positioned behind the first stack 200 of containers 210 on the conveyer 52 to drive the stack 200 into the storage space A1. The stack 200 is thus held on the carrier boards 57, 58 and centered by the guide boards 552, 562 to become in alignment with the hopper 11. The driving rods 551, 561 of the third and fourth pneumatic driving devices 55, 56 are retrieved, separating the carrier boards 57, 58 to allow the stack 200 to fall into the hopper 11 by its own weight. The stack 200 that falls into the hopper 11 is then processed by the screw rods 21, 22 to have individual containers 210 separated and sequentially deposited onto the conveyer belt 300.

After the stack 200 falls into the hopper 11, the driving rods 551, 561 of the third and fourth pneumatic driving devices 55, 56 move back to the extended position to form the temporal storage space A1 again. The first and second pneumatic driving devices 53, 53 are also back to their original positions, waiting to move the next stack 200 that is carried by the conveyer 52 to the position of the previous stack 200 into the storage space A1.

The control means that operates all the pneumatic driving devices 53, 54, 55, 56 according to the detection of the sensing device 51 can be any known control device, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC) or an industrial computer. Further, the next stack 200 can be positioned on the carrier boards 57, 58 inside the storage space A1 in advance to wait for the opening of the carrier boards 57, 58 or alternatively, the stack 200 is moved into the storage space A1 when the containers 210 inside the hopper 11 are all discharged.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention which is intended to be defined by the appended claims. 

1. A device for feeding cup-shaped containers, comprising: a frame; a separating mechanism comprising two screw rods that are arranged on opposite sides of the frame and spaced by a distance adapted to receive a stack of the cup-shaped containers therebetween, each screw rod forming a helical screw spaced by a helical groove that is adapted to receivingly engage a rim of each cup container; an adjusting mechanism mechanically coupled to the screw rods to selectively move the screw rods with respect to each other for changing the distance between the screw rods; and a transmission mechanism in driving engagement with the screw rods to cause rotation of the screw rods, thereby driving the containers forward move in a given direction with the rims of the containers engaging the helical screws of the screw rods and thus separating the containers from each other.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a feed hopper for receiving and retaining the stack of cup-shaped containers in the frame and feeding the stack between the screw rods.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a feed control mechanism that feeds a next stack of cup-shaped containers between the screw rods after the cup-shaped containers are all discharged.
 4. The device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the feed control mechanism comprises: a sensing device for detecting presence of a stack of containers inside the hopper; a conveying device having an end located above and adjacent to a receiving portion of the frame, the conveying device carrying the next stack of cup-shaped containers; a first pneumatic driving device arranged at the end of the conveying device, and having a first driving rod extendible in a first direction; a second pneumatic driving device mounted to the first driving rod and having a second driving rod having an end movable into the conveying device and physically engageable the next stack; third and fourth pneumatic driving devices arranged on opposite sides of the receiving portion of the frame and having third and fourth driving rods, respectively, that are extendible toward each other to an extended position; and a carrier board mounted to an end of each of the third and fourth driving rods and having portions that joint to each other to form a storage space when the third and fourth driving rods are in the extended position; wherein the first and second driving devices are actuateable to move the next stack by the end of the second pneumatic driving device into the storage space for subsequently feeding the next stack into the receiving portion of the frame.
 5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sensing device comprises an opto-electrical sensor.
 6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjusting mechanism comprises: two spaced boards; guide rails extending between the boards; a threaded rod extending between the boards and substantially parallel to the guide rails; and two movable blocks supporting the screw rods respectively and movably arranged between boards and in threading engagement with the threaded rod and slidable along the guide rails whereby rotation of the threaded rod causes the movable blocks to move along the guide rail to separate from/approach each other.
 7. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the adjusting mechanism comprises a hand wheel mounted to the screw rod.
 8. The device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the movable blocks defined through holes each allowing extension of each guide rail and an inner-threaded hole engaging the threaded rod.
 9. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein each movable block defines a bore through which a driving shaft of the transmission mechanism extends to drivingly engage the screw rod supported on the movable block.
 10. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission mechanism comprises: a motor mounted to the frame to supply a driving torque; gears rotatably mounted to the frame and a timing belt extending around the gears and coupled between a spindle of the motor and two transmission wheels to transmit the torque from the motor to the transmission wheels; and a transmission shaft mounted to and driven by each transmission wheel, the transmission shaft being drivingly coupled to each screw rod.
 11. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the timing belt comprises teeth on opposite sides thereof.
 12. The device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the frame defines an elongate slot in which the transmission wheels are movably received and supported. 